New way to report fraud helps free up local police time

The way in which fraud is reported and investigated is changing from today. Victims of fraud and internet crime should now contact Action Fraud directly to report a fraud instead of the police.

  This can be done by either calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or reported via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Non-emergency police call handlers who receive reports of fraud will direct callers to contact Action Fraud.   There are circumstances in which the police should still be called and will respond:
• If the victim is in immediate danger.
• If there is a chance that the suspect could be caught at that time or there is a known local suspect. 
• If the victim is vulnerable or at risk, officers will assist victims in reporting their crime to Action Fraud.   Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre and is run by the National Fraud Authority. 
It has been set up to act as a “one-stop” reporting centre for all information about fraud and financially motivated crime.   Fraud is when trickery is used to gain a dishonest advantage, which is often financial, over another person.   This new way of working means that all fraud reports are recorded securely and effectively analysed to help police tackle fraud nationally.
This centralised intelligence enables seemingly unrelated incidents from around the country to be linked through analysis, helping identify networks of criminals.
Once the information has been analysed and linked, The National Fraud Investigation Bureau will allocate crimes to the best placed police force in the country to investigate it.   Up until now, individual police forces have had responsibility for investigating incidents of fraud as they are reported but this can lead to a less consistent and professional approach.   Action Fraud will provide victims with a national crime reference number so they can obtain updates on their crime. Victims who require it will be referred to Victim Support.   The system has been piloted with five forces and is now being rolled out to all forces in England and Wales.   Detective Inspector Dave Dale, from the Serious Organised Crime Investigation Team, said: “This system will enable victims of fraud to speak to an expert at the Action Fraud call centre straight away and receive a more consistent service.
“Moving to a national approach is a more efficient way for the police to deal with the ever-increasing incidents of fraud. 
“Fraud, by its nature, has no geographical boundaries. A person committing online fraud in Devon and Cornwall could have victims scattered all over the UK or even the world.
“It will enable us to focus our attention and expertise on a concentrated number of crimes that we are in the best position to deal with, rather than the volumes of crimes we have been receiving.”   Devon and Cornwall Police expect to benefit by reducing the amount of fraud crimes that they deal with by 95% and freeing up in the region of 1,360 days of officer’s time over a year.   In the last year (27/11/11 to 27/11/12), Devon and Cornwall Police investigated 2,292 offences of fraud and forgery. However this figure does not include calls that are received by call handlers that do not give rise to investigation or calls directly to the specialist fraud squad.   Fraud Facts:

• Fraud costs the UK economy over £73bn pounds a year.
• There are more than 140 types of fraud being committed regularly throughout the UK.
• Currently the main types of crime being reported are on-line shopping and auction site frauds.

Action Fraud advise:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you didn’t enter a lottery...you haven’t won it.
• Ask questions - if someone is legitimate they won’t pressurise you or be elusive.
• Don’t stay silent- report it.
• Check the real company’s details against the ones you have been given.
• Be wary about giving personal information to strangers or providing money up front.

For further information visit www.actionfraud.police.uk